Good morning, Chennai!
🌤️ Today’s weather: High: 36 ℃ | Low: 27 ℃ | A little cloudy for the day.
🧐 Did you know? The Greater Chennai Corporation was the first municipal corporation in India to adopt and implement a non-motorised transport policy.
🏖️ What happens to the sand dunes?
The CMDA’s coastal beautification project could flatten sand dunes and weaken their defences against extreme weather events.
What’s the story so far? The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is looking at developing the coastal areas in Thiruvottiyur, Kasimedu, and the Injambakkam to Akkarai stretch. The project will transform these stretches with recreational facilities and amenities for visitors. However, flattening the dunes on these stretches could weaken coastal defences against tsunamis.
- If the dunes are flattened, they won’t be able to form again over time. The project could damage water bodies scattered along the Akkarai-Uthandi coastline. It could also affect local fishermen who won’t have space to keep their nests and boats.
- To have facilities like pavements and a walking or cycling track, the CMDA would need to concretise the coastal stretch. A base rubble will be needed to spread over the beach destroying the dunes.
Where are the city’s dunes? There aren’t many dunes left on the city’s beaches. At the Besant Nagar beach, the remnants of a dune are opposite the Schmidt Memorial. Moving along the East Coast Road (ECR), the road moves up and down since it’s built on sand dunes.
👨💼 SaaS firm layoffs
Chennai-based Kissflow lays off 45-50 employees due to a product shutdown.
What’s it about? The Software-as-a-Service company announced it laid off 15% of its staff across sales, marketing, and product development. The company made the announcement following annual performance reviews and shutting down one of its products.
- To help increase customer acquisition across its products, the company is moving away from land-motion procurement to expand motion. The company has over 400 employees across India, the UAE, and the US.
- The layoffs also happened two years after the company gifted brand new BMWs worth ₹1 crore each to its five senior executives. The company said 90% of those laid off were already placed elsewhere.
SaaS slowdown: The news comes as SaaS firms are facing a slowdown due to macroeconomic conditions and the impact of AI. Last month, Freshworks went through three rounds of layoffs from its US location.
🚆 Rail crossings turn deadly
Rail crossings in several locations have resulted in over a hundred deaths due to citizen apathy.
What’s it about? The rail crossings at Perungalathur, Irumbuliyur, Vandalur, Urapakkam and Chromepet have seen over a hundred fatalities within a year. Most people were run over by trains while crossing the tracks since they were on their phones and not paying attention.
- Despite the Railways taking measures to educate the public, it hasn’t stopped people from taking shortcuts instead of using foot over bridges. In Perungalathur, in particular, the line curves before entering the station, but some people aren’t aware of it.
- At the Irumbuliyur crossing, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) installed a speaker to make announcements to alert people crossing the tracks.
What can be done? One activist from Chromepet said that all level crossing should be closed to force people to use foot over bridges or subways. The Southern Railway has plans for alarm systems near the crossings that automatically turn on when a train is approaching.
🌊 Upgrading Sriperumbudur
As more industries settle in Sriperumbudur, the town will get an underground sewage and piped water network.
What’s it about? The industrial town is now home to several industries with more to come. The region will get a piped water supply and an underground sewage network by July at a cost of ₹119.3 crore.
- Residents currently get water from borewells. It’s not enough as the town expands, with some industries still using groundwater. To reduce groundwater depletion, a piped network is the way to go.
- About 42 lakh litres per day will be pumped from the Chembarambakkam water treatment plant to over 3,000 households via 65.4-km long pipes. There’ll be four overhead and three underground tanks.
Thinking long-term: If the population increases, the Metrowater has planned sewage infrastructure for 98,000 residents.
📊 Today’s Poll
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Have you travelled in an Electric Vehicle (EV)?
- I have travelled in an Electric Vehicle (EV).
- I haven’t travelled in an Electric Vehicle (EV).
❓ Today’s Question
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What’s your favourite way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- The Chennai Corporation will spend ₹64 crore to revamp 2.4 km of the Thiruvottiyur high road stretch.
- Tambaram residents are irked by the Corporation’s slow pace in completing civic works.
- Corporation veterinarians suggest pet owners and carers fit e-collars on their pets.
- Tiruvallur’s tourism potential will be tapped thanks to the formation of district tourism promotion councils.
- Chennai-based PLANT Trust will execute a project to deploy 300 artificial reefs in Palk Bay.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!